


The Lord's Daughter

by kuresoto



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bodyguard!AU, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Happy Ending, Original Character(s), Past Child Abuse, Romance, Unrequited Love, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-18 01:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5892451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuresoto/pseuds/kuresoto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kylo is Rey's bodyguard, trains her and protects her (as part of his job description) but it takes her being kidnapped for him to realise that he's been in love with her for years. Modern/Bodyguard AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Was meant to be a short fluffy one shot but it got out of control.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard of her laptop as the car took a sharp turn. She grunted as her shoulder collided with the side window and sent a glare to her driver next to her.

“Apologies, Miss Kenobi.”

“It’s fine, Ren.”

Rey returned to her work and ignored the intense car chase that her car was currently immersed in. Honestly, she understood that she was the daughter of a wealthy businessman and that her head itself was worth millions of credits but even she was getting tired of the constant attempts being made at her life. She gripped her laptop as the car swivelled around and made an abrupt stop. Her bodyguard, Kylo Ren, the man who had been assigned to her ever since she was a child, pulled his automatic gun and riddled the opposing vehicle with bullets. There was a satisfying crunch of glass as the dead bodies fell motionless in their car seat. He let a satisfied smile spread on his face before turning to her.

“Okay?”

She gave a quick thumbs up before returning to her screen. They had been driving back from university when Kylo noticed that they were being tailed and when bullets started to fly towards them, it didn’t take long for his training to take over.

Once they were in the safe confines of the large mansion and the gates were securely locked, Rey let out a sigh before closing her laptop with a click. Kylo came around to her side and opened her door, taking her laptop and bag from her hands. She pouted. “You know I can carry that stuff myself. I’m not totally helpless.”

“Forgive me but your father is home and would frown upon it.”

Rey fixed him with a level stare before pushing past him and up the stairs. He trailed behind her at the appropriate distance and they both entered her room. He set down her belongings on her desk and moved towards the door.

“Thank you for today. Your services are no longer needed.” Kylo gave a small nod before closing her door softly.

Rey collapsed in her chair and opened her drawer. She rummaged through her drawer before she found what she was looking for, holding the old creased photo at eye level. It was taken a year after Kylo started working for her family. She smiled at the scrawny boy who held up his hands in defence as a smaller girl regarded him with determination, her hands clutching a long stick, in offensive mode.

Being born into such a wealthy family meant more security as well as self-defence. It was within a few weeks of meeting Kylo that her father insisted on him teaching her some moves that would benefit her on the off chance that he wasn’t around. Over ten years had passed since she began her lessons and had hit the point where she and Kylo would frequently spar and train with each other. It occupied her mind and kept her busy since she didn’t have many friends. Actually, she didn’t have any throughout her childhood or even now at university. The only people she could even come close to a friend would be the bodyguards stationed throughout the mansion.

Other than Kylo, there were two others that she was close with. However, Finn and Poe weren’t assigned to her but was part of her father’s detail so she didn’t see them as much as she did with Kylo, not that she minded. Kylo didn’t seem to get along with the other bodyguards much, the angry scar running across his face sticking out like a sore thumb. Rey was extremely apologetic when it happened.

It was during one of their training sessions when it happened. She had become advanced with the staff and wanted to try with a spear. Foolishly enough, Kylo had been distracted that day and let his defences down momentarily that the blade sliced through his skin like butter. Rey had been in hysterics the moment she realised what she had done. She was screaming for help, angry tears running down her cheeks as pulled her tunic over her head to stench the blood that was gushing from his face. Her father and his bodyguards came rushing in and froze at the sight. Who could blame them? There Rey was with blood smeared over her skin, her upper body exposed with only her banding covering her modesty, and her bodyguard breathing heavily as his blood soaked into the carpet.

Her father had chastised her afterwards but not as harshly as he was to Kylo. After that, his training regime became intense as to not let it happen again. After all, if Rey, a teenager only training for a few years, was able to best him in a sparring match, then Kylo was obviously not up to scratch. To prove his worth, his skill increased to the point where Rey could confidentially say that he was the fiercest and strongest out of the bodyguards. This pleased her father.

Sometimes, Rey wondered if he would have had the decency to teach her fighting techniques if her father hadn’t mentioned it to him. She was well into her twenties and it had been a few years since the dull throb started. At first, she didn’t think anything of it and thought she was getting sick. When it was obvious that she was not ill, dread came over her when she realised the source.

She had fallen in love with her bodyguard. A bodyguard that seemed to only be there out of obligation. She didn’t know the specifics but she knew there was a lot of money that was being given to have them stationed at the mansion constantly.

After living with the heartache for a few years, she got used to it and accepted that it would truly be nothing more. However, having lack of friends besides bodyguards made it hard for her to move on. Maybe when she graduated and found a job, she could move away to a place where no one knew her and she could move on with her life.

Rey snorted at the conversation that would have to take place with her father. Since she was his only child, he was extremely protective of her, especially since her mother had been killed and was left to him to raise her. She could never talk to him about her affection for Kylo, it seemed like a talk that would be had with her mother, or at least, another female. The closest she could think of would be her great-aunt, Maz, but her visits to the mansion were far and sparse. She suppose her grandfather could have offered her some advice but she just couldn’t picture it.

So she continued her life as if nothing had changed between herself and Kylo. She was pretty sure he didn’t return her feelings anyways. It wasn’t until the discussion of marriage with her father during dinner that made her go stone cold inside.

“You need to find a man who will protect you, Rey.”

She bristled angrily at her father. “I don’t need protecting and why do I need to even get married? Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if people found out that discussions of my possible marriage have started?” Rey stated sarcastically as she stabbed the steak in front of her.

“Now, now, I’m not going to be around forever and I need to know that you’ll be safe when I’m gone. Don’t you agree, Ren?”

She felt Kylo stiffen behind her, obviously not wanting to get involved in family matters. “Whatever you wish is best, my lord.”

Rey rolled her eyes and stood up. “Of course, whatever my father says, goes, doesn’t it?” she sneered at Kylo angrily. Kylo merely stayed silent and looked just past her to avoid her angry stare. She excused herself and retired to her room with an air of frustration.

She was angry. Angry at her father and his misplaced warmth. Angry at Kylo for taking her father’s side _again._

And angry at herself that she couldn’t forget about the painful clench at the base of her throat.

An hour had passed before a tentative knock sounded at her door. She yanked the door open, knowing only one person who could have the guts to speak to her at that time of night. “What?”

Kylo stood stiffly with his hands folded behind his back. “I didn’t feel good with how things were left back there.”

“Well that’s not your decision, now is it?”

“Rey, please let me in so we can talk?” She knew he must be truly apologetic when she hears him use her name. Begrudgingly, she steps aside and let him in.

She only let him take a few steps in before she instantly regretted it. “You know your father is only looking out for you.”

“Does that mean you don’t have an opinion? That you’re unable to think for yourself? You trained me, you know I can protect myself!”

“As good as you are with a spear and a staff, it doesn’t guarantee happiness. You father just wants you to be happy.”

Rey looked at him solemnly. “Why does it have to change? Can’t I just have you guys around forever?” God, even she could tell she was being a touch whiney when she wishes for things to be _forever_.

“You’ll always have us Rey but we’re not appropriate companion material. You need someone you can travel with, have adventures with and know that at the end of the day, you both could do nothing all day and be totally content.” Kylo looked pleadingly at her. “Please understand.”

She looked at him as his words echoed in her head. She couldn’t believe how dense he was being. Surely he knew what he just insinuated. When it was apparent that he was forever oblivious, she continued to stare at him, hoping he would at least take the hint to leave. Eventually, he left her standing alone in her room.

They didn’t speak to each other for a long time after that. Besides to occasional nod of acknowledgement, they didn’t exchange any words, both of them being too acclimated to her routine to use words. Her father assumed that she was still angry about their conversation so didn’t take notice of the frosty divide between her and Kylo.

Almost two months after their altercation, she met Jaran. They were paired together for an assignment that held the bulk of their final grade. He seemed harmless enough, he knew about her status and that finding new friends was not her forte; so he led most of their conversations. He had a charming smile and seemed relaxed that Rey felt herself following his example.

He had even made the transition of friendship to the point where he frequently visited Rey at her home. Her father was ecstatic, hoping that Rey was finally meeting new people and expanding her social circle so that it was more than just the people that occupied the mansion. Kylo, however, hated him instantly.

He saw what was happening. When Rey was in class, Kylo would wait around until she was finished before driving and escorting her home. He had seen the friendly touches and the caresses between Jaran and Rey. Well, he was convinced that it was mostly all Jaran. Kylo didn’t trust him with an inch of his life and stalked the couple more intensely than required.

Rey obviously saw what Kylo was doing and ignored it. He had wanted her to make new friends and maybe look for potential partners so she was doing what they so desperately desired. One time when Jaran was staying over the weekend to work on their assignment, Kylo cornered Rey to voice his opinions of the other man. “I don’t trust him. It’s not safe to invite him here so casually.”

Rolling her eyes, Rey pushed past him. “You have got to chill. I’m making friends like you all want. Just let me be.”

As Kylo fumed, Jaran appeared around the corner and tilted his head questioningly at the tall bodyguard. “Is something the matter?”

Kylo grabbed Jaran’s collar and pulled him close to his face, breathing heavily onto the smaller man. “I don’t know what you’re planning but don’t get comfortable. This ‘arrangement’ you have with Rey? It’s temporary.”

Fear danced across Jaran’s face before a nasty grin twisted in its place. “Oh, I see how this is. You see me as competition.” He inched closer to Kylo, an evil glint in his eyes. “Well, it’s so very disappointing that I can’t seem to take you as a challenge. She’s much suited with me anyways, remember that. You’ve been nothing but a burden to her.”

Jaran left Kylo standing still in the hallway, frozen with his mind running at lightspeed. _I thought she was happy with me_.

This was how Finn and Poe found him later that day, still in the hallway, brooding. By that time, he had slid down to the floor but he was still in a foul mood. The pair tried to rouse him out of his stupor but was unsuccessful after a few attempts. Seeing that there was nothing that could be done, they left him in the hallway, bathed in darkness.

Time flew by with the rift between Rey and Kylo growing by the day until it was the day of her final exams. He was waiting by the car as per their usual arrangement, leaning on the passenger’s side and observing the students excitedly chatting to each other. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. She was late.

He checked the time and noted that her last exam finished almost half an hour ago. Even if she had stayed to the end- _not that she needed it, she usually breezes through them_ -she would usually call him if she was running late. Another ten minutes passed before he pushed himself off the car and strode towards the exam hall. He did a quick survey and realised there was no one in sight.

Panic started to seize him as he started to search the campus. Thankfully, it wasn’t a big campus so it was an easy search but he still came up with nothing. He tried asking a few students that were still lingering but none were able to help. Just as he pulled his phone out to call in his mistake, a professor that he recognised from Rey’s orientation day caught his eye.

Quickly, he grabbed the old man by the shoulders, desperation bleeding into his voice. “Do you know where she went?”

The professor looked at him in shock. There was no need to clarify who Kylo was referring to, there was only one student that required a bodyguard. “I heard that some students were planning on going to the pub down the road for celebratory drinks.”

Kylo gritted out a quick thank you before getting in the car and speeding down the street. If Rey was fine and actually at the pub, he wasn’t sure if he would be more relieved or stressed from all the worry she put him through. Unfortunately when he arrived, it was apparent that she wasn’t there. The sun had set a while ago and bathed the streets in darkness. He checked his phone and already saw five missed calls from Rey’s father and another two messages from Finn and Poe. He didn’t know what to do. If he had been present when she was taken, maybe he would have been able to prevent it or at least had some clues to work from. For now, he just sank onto his knees outside the pub, mind racing through all the scenarios that he could have prevented.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a dull thud at the back of her head and behind her eyes. Rey groaned as she tried to focus on her surroundings but a black cloth was covering her eyesight. She let out shaky breaths, trying to get a grip as she repeated to herself that Kylo would notice she was missing, that he would find her soon. The waiting was the unbearable part. What was worse was that she wasn’t even sure how she got into this mess in the first place. She had finished her exam early like always and stuck around to wait for Jaran to finish. After he met up with her, things started to get hazy.

Since her hands were tied behind her back, she shuffled her body upwards so she was upright in a sitting position and started to feel her environment, trying to ascertain any clues as to where she was and what was install for her. She couldn’t see much from the blindfold but she could tell that she was in a dark room, probably with no windows or that the sun had already set and she was passed out longer than she was comfortable recognising.

The ground was cold under her with a thin layer of sandy dirt. She guessed she was being held in a basement somewhere. As she tried standing up, a jingling noise caught her attention and she chastised herself for not noticing earlier. Whoever took her would be in for a treat when she got loose. No one chained up Rey Kenobi and got away with it, either from Rey herself or from her bodyguard.

-

It was almost nine at night when Poe found Kylo. Finn had stayed behind at the mansion to keep Lord Kenobi from worrying while Poe was tasked to finding Rey and Kylo. Crouching down in front of him, Poe laid his hand on the man’s shoulder, causing him to jump. “Dameron?”

“Ren, what happened? Lord Kenobi is freaking out since you won’t reply to any of us and Rey isn’t picking up either.”

“I messed up. I should have kept a closer eye on her. She took her exam and just…disappeared.” Kylo had a faraway look on his face that made Poe almost slap him.

“Hey, keep it together. We’ll find her. We’ll probably need to notify the authorities so we can use their resources and look over their feeds.” Poe pulled Kylo up from the ground with a grunt and threw him a wary look at his appearance. His hair was dishevelled and there was panic in his eyes. “She’ll be fine.”

-

Rey was not fine. If anything, she was getting impatient and pissed that whoever took her hadn’t had the decency to show up yet. No ransom, no threats, nothing. She started to shiver.

-

After leaving Poe with the police to go through their surveillance footage, Kylo stopped by the local hospital in case she had been injured and was detained in the hospital. Initially, he was polite and calm, knowing that a panicked request would just annoy the nurses unnecessarily. As he watched the nurse look over the list of incoming patients in the last six hours, a name caught his attention.

With a surprisingly steady voice, Kylo stopped the nurse. “What bed is Jaran in?”

-

She was ten when she met Kylo. Before that she had no one. Even when her mother was alive, she didn’t see much of her parents. Retrospectively, she understood that they were busy with work and was unable to entertain their child. She never cried or made any trouble so the couple didn’t notice the sadness ebbing into Rey’s life.

When she met Kylo, she was ecstatic. He was a lanky eighteen year old boy at the time, newly graduated from the academy, which was perfect in her father’s eyes. He was young enough to entertain Rey but still had the skills that would keep her safe. At first, he seemed uncomfortable at the thought having a young girl being around him but eventually, he got used to it. It hadn’t taken long for him to notice how lonely she was.

Rey smiled at the memory of Kylo hugging her when she had a particularly bad dream. They still hadn’t known each other very well back then but he didn’t ask any questions, merely opened his arms for her, cradling her small body until slumber claimed her.

It was different to her situation now. She wondered how things could have gone so spectacularly wrong as she curled up in a ball, willing the terrors and loneliness to not haunt her dreams.

-

Seeing a purple bruise blooming across Jaran’s face made Kylo swell with satisfaction. The fractured arm was an added bonus. “What the _fuck_ happened?”

Jaran merely glared at him. “If you did your job, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up this way.”

Kylo scoffed. “Please, even if I saw what transpired, I would not have given a shit about what ever injuries your sustained. Who took her? What happened exactly?”

“We were meant to go out for drinks after the exam. You know, hang out and maybe get Rey a few more friends? We had just gotten a drink when some guy jostled us. I punched him but he was too fast and got my eye. He must have had accomplices since I turned around and Rey was gone and he kicked me to the ground before stomping on my arm.” Jaran waved his arm to prove a point.

“And no one helped you? No one saw what happened? I was at the pub before and I asked around. No one saw anything, not even you two.” He didn’t like the story. It fell too neatly in place.

“Hey man, I’ve told you how it happened.”

Not caring for the startled noise from Jaran or the angry shout from the nearby nurse, Kylo gripped the hospital gown donning the younger man’s body and pulled him close. With a low but deadly tone, he whispered, “If I find out that you had anything to do with this, I will rip your teeth out. One. At. A. Time.” He punctuated each word slowly, waiting for the appropriate amount of fear to bleed into Jaran’s eyes before loosening his grip, the offending man weakly falling back onto his pillows.

Kylo brushed past the glaring nurse and took out his vibrating phone. “Dameron, what have you got?”

“Get back to the mansion now. The master received something that you’re not going to like.”

The phone went dead with a _click_ , leaving him with silence and the angry sound of his heart racing. When he arrived back at the mansion, it didn’t take long to locate the other bodyguards along with the lord of the manor. Rey’s father had his head in his hands, hair and clothes a mess from worry. Finn slid an envelope across the table to Kylo, who caught it and ripped it open. He tipped open the envelope and let the contents fall out.

Three photos fell face up on the table for him to see. He felt his heart clench as he saw Rey in the three photos, all with a blindfold over her eyes and her limbs tied with plastic cable ties. There was a metal collar around her throat attached to a thick chain that ran out of the photo. The girl appeared to be safe but was passed out on the floor, her hair falling out of her buns she normally had them in.

Kylo gritted his teeth in anger as he ran his hand over the unconscious face in the photos. “Have they sent their demands?”

“Not yet,” Finn whispered. He flinched at glass smashing onto the marble floor and Kylo’s heavy boots stomping out of the room.

-

She wasn’t sure how much more time had passed since she realised the graveness of her situation. She had slid back down onto the floor, adjusting her body slightly to accommodate the heavy chain attached to her neck. Just as she felt her eyes grow heavy with boredom, she heard footsteps approaching before the unmistakable noise of a lock clicking and the creak of a door swinging open.

“Well, your majesty, seems like you’ve woken up in time for the fun to begin.”

Rey quickly sat up, grimacing in pain as the metal collar rubbed into her neck. She tilted her head in the direction of the voice, not recognising it, and tried to squint through the fabric. Heavy footfalls only met her ears as she strained against the bindings. The hair on the back of her neck stood as she felt her captors presence stop before her, leaning in to sniff her and chuckle into her ear.

“If you’re good and you listen to my instructions, you won’t get hurt. Understand?”

“What do you want?”

_Slap_

Rey coughed in pain.  She had accidentally bit on her tongue when the large hand stuck her face.

“You will answer me and not talk back. Do you understand?” She slowly nodded in affirmation. “You’re quite difficult to get alone, you know that? That pesky _bodyguard_ of yours always being around is such a nuisance.”

“But aren’t you at all worried about what he’ll do to you when he finds me?”

A bark of laughter. “Oh dear girl, you don’t have any idea who I am, do you?” Rey’s head jolted around as a hand grabbed her blindfold and yanked it off. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the lighting and to focus on the face in front of her.

She didn’t recognise the man in front of her. His skin had a sickly pale tone, head balding with veins popping angrily from his skull. There were angry scars running across his face, his thin mouth twisting into a sneer. His hand gripped her jaw tightly, making Rey whimper at the pressure.

“I’m going to enjoy breaking you the way your father broke me.”

Rey tried to keep her wits about her, not allowing for her captor to feel any triumph at her discomfort, but it was only so much she could do when a rough pull of the chain upwards made her choke. She wanted to claw at the collar encasing her throat, the pressure and the pain building up in her body, but her arms were still tied being her back. Tears started to swim in her eyes as she was lifted off the floor, her legs dangling helplessly below her. Through her tears, she could just make out the twisted snarl of pleasure on the man’s face.

-

Sunrise brought a new set of photos to the manor. Lord Kenobi was the first to see them, his body trembling with fear. Kylo watched the man crumble into a heap below him as he took the photos from the old man’s weak hold. His eyes widened at the appearance of his charge. Someone in the photo was gripping her hair upwards so that the camera could clearly capture everything that had been subjected to her so far.

A welt forming on her cheek. Faint bruising alone her jawline. Angry red marks peeking from under her metal collar. Her eyes red but still glaring defiantly at the camera.

If the situation wasn’t so dire, he would have smiled at the stubbornness of her. Even when captured, he knew that she would put up a fight. She wouldn’t go down so easily.

Kylo flipped the envelope over and saw a wax seal stamped on the flap of the envelope. There was a single cursive ‘S’ imprinted into the thick red wax. Above it were words written in angry, spiky scrawl, its message teasing the intended recipient.

_Snoke misses you_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait, i literally didn't know where i was going with this but now i _kind of_ do


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the tags and added warnings cos this story took a dark turn, so please check them before proceeding.

When Rey jolted awake for the second time, she wasn’t sure about a lot of things. Where was she now? What had happened? Wincing, she gingerly lifter her hand and caressed the raw red strip imprinted on her neck. She let out a throaty cough, the painful memory of being choked flooding back. Confusion soon followed after she got over the fact some unknown man that was somehow affiliated to her father had captured her.

Like any other child of a wealthy businessman, she only had a faint idea of what her father _actually_ did. She assumed it was something to do with finances, not entirely sure but never interesting enough for Rey to formally make an inquiry. She was always sheltered due to her father. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in any of his business.

Letting her thoughts wonder, she surveyed the room she had been dumped in. It was a stark difference from the dark, cold, unforgiving basement she was held in before. The white walls and sparse furniture hurt her eyes, the sheer amount of space available in the large room distracting her from not letting her mind dart to worst case scenarios. With the bright walls and the grey scratchy carpet beneath her feet, there was only a single bed against the wall with a small bedside table next to it.

She settled on the firm mattress and opened the drawers of the table. As she suspected, there it was barren, a thin layer of dust as its contents. Rey ran a finger over the fluff, the uneven bumpiness of the brittle wood catching her attention. She swiped her palm in the drawer, brushing aside the dust and revealing small thin lines etched into the timber, tallies of five covering every available bit of surface. Falling back onto the mattress harshly, the bedsheets came undone from the sudden movement. As Rey moved the tuck it back into the bed, a force of habit, she noticed a slightly discolouration of the mattress the sheet was hiding.

With determination, she ripped the sheets off and gagged at the sight, her scratchy throat burning in protest at the dry retches she wished to heave. Time had done its job and made the stains on the bed nothing more than faded red blotches, the color now a sick brown, but Rey knew what the stains were. Blood. Hands shaking and genuine fear creeping into the corners of her mind, she backed into a corner, trying to distance herself from the minimal contents of the room. Now she was intimately close to the wall, she could see matching patterns of tallies written on the walls, smudged as if the writer wanted to hide them at short notice.

Unable to unsee it, she saw the walls _covered_ with the marks, the pattern taunting her as if it was a calendar of her impending imprisonment. She sprung to her feet and ran for the door, ignoring the pain that shot through her body, her limbs weak despite being unconscious for so long. Gripping the doorknob in her hand, she pulled and threw her weight into it, a small glimmer of hope that maybe her captor had forgotten to lock her door. It was too good to be true but that didn’t stop Rey from frantically clawing the door.

Desperation bled into her voice as she thumped her clenched fists on the locked door, blood screaming in her ears. Hysteria had taken over her mind. She knew someone had been locked inside that very room, years ago from the looks of it. The markings on the wall indicated a horrifyingly long time the occupant had been trapped, useless to do anything.

Changing her strategy, she dragged the bedside table towards the small cut out in the wall that served as a makeshift window, and climbed on top, uncaring for the weathering wood. She had to strain on the tips of her toes to peak outside. Bars of rusted iron grazed against her fingertips, her eyes only being able to see the endlessness of water. She listened to the crashing of waves on what she guessed to be rocks below and let out a shaky sigh.

She dropped down from the table and settled back in the corner. She didn’t want to go anywhere near that bed, the blood stains already exposed fuelling her paranoia of what was to come.

-

She didn’t know how much time passed. The sun had started to set, bathing the room in a soft glow that Rey would have found pleasant if not for the circumstances she was in. Her eyes darted to the unmistakable sound of keys rattling in the lock, watching as the door swung open with a heavy slam against the wall. The same man from before sauntered in, his face looking even more frightful in the light.

No comments were made as he surveyed the exposed mattress stains and moved furniture, or even the girl who curled up in a ball in the corner. “Hmm, you’re a lot less violent than my previous subject. That’s a given.”

Rey regarded him warily at his nonchalant attitude to, essentially, a prison cell. “What do you want?” she asked weakly.

Goosebumps formed on her arm as the man scooped up the discarded sheets and brought them to his nose. The loud inhalation only made Rey’s heart beat faster. “If I imagine hard enough, I can almost smell him.”

“Who?” She was afraid her squeak of a voice would draw his unwanted attention.

A chill filled the room and soaked into her bones when a painfully wide smile stretched over the wrinkly old face. “Why, my apprentice Ben of course.” He chuckled at the confusion that painted Rey’s face. “Ah, I’m not surprised you don’t know. You were far too young when he was still with me, if even alive!” She flinched at the laughter that mixed with the last word. “This was his room and I feel it’s quite fitting for you now. A sort of poetic symmetry, if you will.”

Rey tried to scurry further back into the corner when the man beared down on her. “No one can compare to him. Not even _Hux_.” He spat the last word. “He was my protégé. He was _special_. I made him who he is today and your father took it all away. Well, revenge is a dish best served cold. I have his _precious daughter_ now. _His_ protégé.”

She gasped at the pain of her hair being pulled roughly. “And you’re far from Ben’s standard for me to even treat you nicely.”

Her feet kicked wildly as she was dragged out of the room, the rough carpet burning her back. She was sure they would leave marks, adding them to her rapidly expanding list of wounds she was getting from this psycho. She tried to even her breathing, the maniacal man’s monologue solidifying her need to get out. The man’s frailness was frighteningly deceptive as he was the polar opposite of weak, his unexpected strength pulling her through the long corridors with ease.

Rey was dumped unceremoniously into another room, the walls of this more harsh and bright than her own prison cell. She didn’t have time to take in the room’s contents when she was forced into a cold metal chair with leather straps wrapping her wrist snuggly, as if to seal her fate.

The man busied himself with syringe, a latex gloved finger flicking at the plastic as he ignored the clear fluid that dripped out of the sharp tip. “He was able to tolerate anything I gave him and he was only _ten_. Let’s hope you can at least meet his quota _._ ”

“No!” choked out Rey as she struggled, using all her strength to get out of the restraints. She winced in pain at the piercing of her skin and let her head flop back in defeat. “What…is that?”

Rey watched him with suspicion as he loosened her restraints and backed away, taunting her with a smirk. “Hallucinogens. I’ve made a lovely cocktail that’ll make you see…things…making them _very_ real. I’ve also added a few bits and pieces that will prepare you for what else I have in stall for you. Consider this a test, if you will.”

She felt a surge of adrenaline and jolted out of the chair. With wild eyes, she growled at the man who was borderline laughing at the jittering movements that wracked her body. The door was close and probably unlocked. She was closer than he was and she knew she was fast. If she could just get out of this room, she could get out of this hell of a house. She could _escape_.

Without a further thought, she darted from the room, energy pulsing her veins as she almost ripped the door from its hinges along the way. She threw a look behind her and saw him stand by the door, the light from the room illuminating him, smiling at her antics. She didn’t care if this was part of his stupid plan. She _will_ get out.

The drug started to affect her, harsh whispers echoing her mind and down the corridors. She spun around wildly, trying to decipher from reality and hallucination. She could just make the outline of her captor slowly following her, strolling through the hallways with a relaxed gait. He took out a fob watch from his pocket and glanced at it. “Oh, this is where the fun starts.”

Backing from him, Rey resumed her panicked running, her legs carrying through the maze that seemed to form before her eyes. She saw a black figure from the corner of her eye and almost shrieked as she tripped on a knot in the carpet. The figure loomed over her, his face covered by the shadow that fell from the hood of his long trench-coat. Despite not seeing his face, Rey recognised the height and posture. “Kylo?”

Before relief could flood her face, the old man stepped through her apparition, destroying the small glimmer of hope that had almost sparked. “It’s quite an interesting bodyguard you have, don’t you think?”

Her legs propelled her from the old man, her backside rubbing against the carpet as she tried to get to her feet. She stumbled away, her ankle throbbing in pain from tripping earlier, and vaguely listened to the sneers.

“Kylo Ren, isn’t it? A _very_ interesting name.”

Her hands flew at every doorknob in sight, her wrist twisting with futility at the knobs that would not budge.

“Who would name their child such a name?”

She found a flight of stairs and almost tumbled down the steps, her heart pounding in her ears and ankle starting to affect her movements.

“Such an unusual name.”

She saw another black cloaked figure waiting at the bottom of the stairs but didn’t pay any attention to it, too focused on trying to get away from the echoing laughter.

“You grew up with him, didn’t you? Well, no, he was already grown.”

There was a door that seemed different from the rest, more aged than the rest of the others she had tried.

“He’s very good at his job, don’t you think?”

She was within a few feet from it, her hand outstretched.

“Well apart from getting you in this mess, he protects you very well.”

With victory surging through her body, her hand grasped the door knob.

“Kylo Ren. A rather lazy name, don’t you think?”

She twisted the knob.

“If he wanted the erase his past, he should have changed it to something more different.”

Rey pushed the door open and fell through the doorway, not paying attention to the words. Her knees hit the ground from the force she inadvertently applied to open the door.

“I mean, Kylo Ren is _so similar_ …”

She braced herself with her hands and looked up to survey the room she fell into.

“…to Ben, don’t you think?”

Photos on photos lined the walls, not an inch of wall exposed. Once her eyes adjusted, Rey squinted and was able to make out the same boy in all the photos.

“Who do you think made him the great man he is today?”

Rey’s eyes widened in horror, the wheels in her mind working and connecting the dots. The room. The blood. _The scratches_. His awkwardness. His methodical and strict demeanour. His almost absent emotion whenever he killed for her.

“I’ll leave you to take this new information in.”

She ignored the soft click of the door behind her and the fading cackling, her eyes fixated on the sheer amount of photos in front of her, the moonlight that shone through the iron-barred window giving her the light she needed to analyse the photos better. With shaking hands, she lifted herself up and shuffled closer to the images. Each of them had the same small boy in them, no smiles gracing his face. Her eyes wondered across the walls, seeing the boy in varying degrees of age.

One that she guessed was the earliest to be taken, as indicated by how _young_ he looked, had Kylo – no, Ben – looking at the camera gloomily, his cheek red from a slap that Rey assumed that had come from his captor. As she was able to piece photos together in her head and arrange them in chronological order, her stomach twisted at the varying degrees of pain that was documented.

Bruises marring his face at different points of his life. His hair haphazardly chopped off, as if his black hair was yanked painfully and sliced off suddenly. His eyes hardening and becoming deader with each photo. The stiffness of his clenched jaw gracing more photos than she liked. Ben donning blood-soaked clothes, Rey sure of who the blood belonged to until she came across an area of the wall that gave her significant doubt.

Ben standing over bleeding bodies. Ben looming over another boy with ginger hair, his hand wrapped around the ginger’s forearm in a way that Rey had to turn away from the implication of Ben breaking the boy’s arm.

Rey had to back away from that wall, lest she got sick from the graphic images. She settled in front of a section that made her not want to violently throw up, photos of Ben standing with his back straight and rigid, a black military styled suit upon his body. This must have been one of the last images taken of him, Rey noted as she didn’t see any of him looking older.

Years. He was kept here for _years._

_And so will you_

The deep voice whispered in her ears, the voice that belonged to her bodyguard. She felt a solid hand on her shoulder, causing her to look behind her. Her exhausted mind just registered Kylo Ren towering over her with the same black suit that she just saw in the photo, his eyes piercing her soul with such intensity that it almost made her cry. She collapsed in a bundle, unable to meet his eyes and held her palms over her ears, trying to tune out the deep murmurs of the hallucination.

-

Morning came sooner than she expected. As she squinted at the sunlight that streamed into the room, she noticed a few of the bars looked crooked against its straight copies. The spectre of her bodyguard continued to loom in the corner, not saying a word as she moved towards the window. She wasn’t sure how much longer the drugs would be in her system, not wanting to find out what else the crazy old man had for her.

When she stood in front of the window, she saw sharp grey branches of dead trees almost covering the window. Looking down, she guessed that she was on the second level of this place, not knowing how many floors there were. She gripped one of the bars and wriggled it experimentally, the iron wobbling from its position.

Before the sun could rise anymore, she set to work at breaking out. She tried jiggling the bars a few more times but was unsuccessful. With desperation ebbing into her mind, she used everything, from the palm of her hand to her forearm, to bash her way through the bars. The rust started to cut through her epidermis, blood smearing against the parts of her non broken skin. She ignored the stinging flesh and continued her attacks, more and more grazes blossoming on her arm.

With a final angry burst of energy, two bars twisted and fell from its place, the objects loudly hitting the cobblestones of the house as they went down. Paranoid that the noise would cause her captor to come back, Rey hoisted herself up to the windowsill and squeezed through the small hole. She grabbed a nearby branch, hoping to pull herself onto a tree and climb down safely. She underestimated the stability of the tree, accidentally applying her full weight onto a trunk only for it to _crack_ and send her plummeting to the ground.

She fell with a soft thud, the overgrown grass barely breaking her fall. She groaned in pain and coughed, trying to breath in the air that was temporarily knocked from her lungs. The dead trees seemed to be encasing the castle she was locked in, the old trees growing in all directions as if to act as a barrier from the outside world. As she tried to find a path away from the castle, the sharp branches cut into her face and arms. She cut her way through the makeshift forest with her arms, finally finding a clearing in front of the castle.

Just as she stepped from of the twisted trees, the front door opened. With fear caught in her throat, she bolted for the front gates, not looking back and hoping that her feet would outrun whoever opened the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you're enjoying this! I wasn't expecting such angst when I started this fic tbh...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I got swept away by sinful ships!
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments! I really needed them and thus I've actually planned out properly what will happen ~~at last. Note to self: Don't start multichaps without an actual plan~~
> 
> Also, Rey's father _finally_ gets a name lulz

Argon Kenobi, father of Rey Kenobi, son of Obi-Wan Kenobi and successor to Stewjon Group Laboratories, was no stranger to mistakes and regret. He had spent almost fifteen years trying to rectify his past mistakes. When he saw the familiar insignia on the back of the envelope, he knew he hadn’t done enough. Memories and a past he never spoke about started to bubble towards the surface. He knew he had to address it, especially with what had happened to Rey. He had put off the conversation with her for the longest time, hoping that it would never be necessary.

He flinched when he felt Kylo’s presence enter the room. He knew the tall man would not be happy about this, about what he kept from him. As predicted, heavy breathing of rage filled the room as he reluctantly looked up at the bodyguard.

Anger. Uncontrollable anger – something he was responsible for.

Guilt gnawed at him from the inside as he allowed himself to be manhandled. After all – from the fuck up involving Kylo Ren, _no, Ben Solo_ , to the tragedy of how he lost his wife, to how he might even lose his own _daughter_ – he deserved every scathing comment or blow that Kylo had for him.

-

The thick parchment crinkled under the clenched fists of Kylo Ren. He spent _years_ controlling his anger and aggression when he was initially dumped at the Academy. The years of discipline that he strived to master started slipping from its confines. With the envelope almost in tatters, he slowly raised his head to glare at Rey’s father, the one who was most probably the reason for this mess.

“Did you know?”

He wished he didn’t. How he _hoped_. He had placed so much trust in Rey’s father, from when they first met under unconventional circumstances, to growing and fixing himself by being with his family for over ten years.

“Yes.”

Heavy breaths passed his lips as he tried to reign in his temper. It was hard. He was _absolutely_ furious. He had followed the man blindly for ten years, never saying a word when the man neglected his daughter, when he tried to interfere in Rey’s life and make decisions for her. Kylo always took his side.

His body started to shake as years of loneliness he had to witness to Rey flittered in his mind. Kylo never said anything against Argon Kenobi, accepting that he was busy with his work to entertain his daughter – busy and damaged. He knew the circumstances of how Rey’s mother died, that was probably why he would _die_ for him and his family. Despite the years of reassurance from Argon, he always blamed himself at the back of his mind for her death. He always blamed himself for Rey not having a proper family anymore.

Before Poe could stop him, Kylo surged forward and grabbed the Argon’s collar, shaking the elder erratically with trembling hands. “You did this. You _knew_ and you never said anything! He’s got her because of _you_!”

Kylo was vaguely aware of arms wrapping around his broad shoulders to pull him off the Lord but he didn’t seem to care. The years of self-restraint had already started to unfurl when Rey initially disappeared but hearing the betrayal from his Master’s own lips seemed to be the final punch to his gut. The guilt that shone in the old man’s eyes as he accepted the bruising force of Kylo Ren just confirmed his thoughts.

-

He didn’t know how long he spent inside her room. After Poe pulled him away from their employer and sent him away to calm down, he immediately sought out her room. Curling in the corner of a dark room was a pastime he had hoped to never endure again. In a cruel, ironic, twist of fate, he felt himself calm as he hugged his knees closer to his chest, his long legs bumping his chin uncomfortably. It calmed him – just by being near Rey’s things. To smell her around him. To be submerged in her belongings. It almost made him believe that she was _actually_ there still, smiling so carefree at him whenever they were alone.

Hours must have passed and he didn’t even notice. At one point, his _Master_ stepped into his haven and crouched before him.

“Ben…”

He flinched at the way his old name sounded in the quiet room. He stared back at the old man, not caring for his insolence or impudence.

“I-I tried. I tried _so hard_ to fix it before it got out of hand.”

“Well you failed. Spectacularly,” Kylo said, deadpan.

Silence fell between the two once again, each man staring blankly at the other. Argon’s face seemed to have aged a decade in the span of a few hours. _Good_ , Kylo thought, _he deserves it._

“Please, Ben, you have to find her.”

 “ _DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT_?”

Argon tried not shudder when Kylo’s deep voice reverberated through the walls.

“Ben-”

“ _DON’T CALL ME THAT_!” Jumping to his feet, Kylo separated himself from the apologetic man. He knew if he stayed in close proximity to him, he would lash out and do something he would _truly_ regret. “Don’t…call me that,” he repeated slowly, breathing long breaths of air to stabilize himself as he angrily wore a hole in the carpet. He _hated_ his birth name, the sadistic glee and affection that tinged _his_ voice whenever Kylo did what he was told, etched into his mind.

“Kylo then. You need to find her.”

Grabbing a nearby picture frame and roaring, Kylo flung it at the wall, relishing at the crashing sound it made as thousands of pieces of glass littered the floor. Belatedly, he felt a pang of guilt for destroying Rey’s items. “How did he get out?”

“Good behaviour. He’s meant to be under surveillance.”

Kylo scoffed. “As if he could be contained by mere _surveillance_.”

Argon continued. “I’ve been trying to keep tabs on him for the past two weeks since he’s been released. If he’s slipped from his security detail then he must have had help from a third party. I was never privy to the police records so I don’t know where his old estates are but it’s a good place to start. I’ve tried contacting the other boy, Hux? To ask him before _this_ happened, you know? It’s hard to track down any of the remaining survivors when this whole thing was meant to be put to rest.”

 “It won’t be over until he’s dead.” With his stoic mask back in place, he set his shoulders straight and moved towards the door. “But don’t worry, I’m going to end it, for good. Keep looking into his activities while I get Rey.”

Just as he was about to twist the knob of the door, Argon’s voice stopped him. “I’ve know you for half your life. You’ve never lost control like this. Not since I saved you from that place.”

His body seized up at the simple statements. They were true. Ever since he was conditioned, his temper frenzies had been beaten out of him. He hadn’t felt such emotion course through him for over a decade. Kylo gripped the doorknob harder and pushed past the doorway, leaving Argon’s words hanging behind him.

-

“Hux, it’s-”

A dead tone met his ears before he could get the rest of his sentence out. Kylo threw the phone down in the passenger’s seat in disgust. It had been years since he’d last laid eyes on the boy he had almost beaten to death as a child, so he wasn’t surprised by Hux’s lack of enthusiasm for his call. Ever since Snoke’s makeshift _farm_ was raided and the survivors were treated, each of them went their separate ways, hoping to put the whole thing behind them as if it never happened. From what Kylo heard over the years, some had ended their lives, the pain and suffering they endured too much for them to live with. Some others disappeared from the face of the planet, either becoming a hermit or changing their identities.

Some moved on with their lives and rebuilt what was left of it – himself and Hux being some.

He knew exactly where Snoke would be, how could he not? His prized estate where all his instruments and equipment was still in the property that was seized by police fifteen years ago. He had a vague sense of where it was located but no specific address. He knew that the property was situated near the coast, near the edge of a cliff. All the subjects’ rooms were located on the far side of the property, their windows facing the choppy waves so to deter anyone from escaping, lest they challenge death.

If by some miracle someone _did_ escape, they would have to navigate their way through the twisting and winding halls, the walls being identical and virtually impossible to memorize the plan. He would know, _he tried so many times_. The problem with the multi-levelled castle was that there were always more than one room to experiment people on. As a child, he was always taken to a brightly lit room with blindingly white walls but he knew that the rooms were rotated frequently. The rooms were all identical but the routes to the room he was dragged to always differ each time.

Adding to the maze that was Snoke’s farm, the drugs he was constantly pumped with made his memory turn to shit. Trying to memorize routes within the house was a nightmare in itself with drugs flowing in his veins. Eventually, it was easier to just accept rather than resist. That was when he started to _really_ shine to Snoke, he guessed.

Kylo gripped the steering wheel as he turned off the highway and into the more deserted streets, driving further and further away from the bustling city behind him. It was starting to get dark but that didn’t bother him. The faster he got to where Snoke was keeping her, the less drugs Rey would take. He knew Snoke’s M.O, him being a scientist for Stewjon Laboratories before he was locked away. Snoke used to do research for the sage Kenobi-owned company, using their resources to develop drugs for his own personal use. It helped that he was assigned to the Biological Weapons Team but just bad luck that his forged background passed the security checks. Due to this incident, security at the company had increased immensely over the years.

Kylo never made it a habit to concern himself with the inner workings of Stewjon Group. When he was initially hired by Argon himself, he was given full access to the company – that was one of the conditions Kylo placed before agreeing to work for Argon. Once he was satisfied that the company had indeed changed and took the appropriate steps to preventing someone like Snoke from ever being employed, only then did Kylo agree. At the time, Argon was extremely thankful and desperate but Kylo knew that this would probably be the best opportunity he would get in his life.

He was a trained killer. Albeit, after three years in the Academy, he had calmed down significantly and more composed as a result. Kylo’s life would never be normal – he knew that. Argon knew him, understood what he had been through. Any other employer Kylo got might be a total asshole so by agreeing with Argon, it reduced the anxiety of having to deal with total strangers.

Meeting Rey was something else entirely.

At the time, she was just a small child of ten years. He had seen how children were _meant_ to be and he knew that she wasn’t like the others. Loneliness had ebbed into her life after the loss of her mother and the withdrawal of her father. As much as he had initially resisted, the urge to see her smile grew – the need to fix her so that she would never have to experience the pain he had to endure. It became a good excuse to continue his service to the Kenobis.

The shrill ring of his phone jolted him from his thoughts, causing him to almost wrap his car around a tree in the process. He glanced down at the caller ID and sighed, exasperated. _Poe Dameron_. He wasn’t surprised, he did leave without a word to his fellow bodyguards. He didn’t see the need to inform them of his plans. They would follow Argon to the ends of the planet, more so than he ever could.

Ignoring the continuous ringing, he pulled over on the edge of the road. He had been driving down the tree-lined road for the past hour and had to stop the car when he vaguely saw water on the horizon. He was close, he could taste the salt in the air. By now, Kylo was bathed in darkness and had to use the light from his phone to light his way through the forest. Pulling up a map on the screen, he squinted at the bright light that illuminated his face and made calculations on the direction he should be heading.

The loud noise of silence stretched far and wide as his heavy boots crunched the twigs and leaves that was lain before him. Keeping the map on the screen as well as the makeshift flashlight on, he neared his destination. The faint sound of waves crashing on rocks became louder and louder as he trenched through the dark forest.

Soon, the familiar foreboding walls came into view over the tops of the dead trees. It looked the same as he remembered, the aged trees growing haphazardly and out of control around the estate since then. The once bright yellow tape that wrapped around the iron bars of the front gates were worn and faded over time, the thin tape lying on the ground in a heap. A heavy chain and padlock was also hanging off the twisted bars, innocently taunting him as it hung in two pieces.

Pushing the gate open slightly, he squeezed through the small gap and confronted the past he thought he had put to rest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Wookiepedia, Stewjon is the homeworld of Obi-Wan


End file.
